Truth and Ideals
by Insanity Central
Summary: Black is constantly overshadowed by his twin sister White, and it's the last straw when White goes on an adventure with Pokemon and Black is stuck at home. But when he takes drastic measures to go on a journey himself and meets the mysterious N, will his ideals of a world with Pokemon be enough...?
1. Chapter 1 Jealousy

A/N: This is my first fanfiction on here, so thanks for reading? XD Well anyway, hopefully chapters 2 and 3 will be out soon, and then the rest, so stay tuned for that? Make sure to review if you liked, or even you didn't like, so I can improve and make this better!

**Truth and Ideals - Chapter 1 – Jealousy**

Leaning back on a tree, I sighed and gazed out into the world beyond the town. It was early in the morning and the grass and leaves glittered with rainbow coloured dew drops, from where it had rained the night before. Large, puffy white clouds moved overhead in the otherwise clear skies, and listening closely I could hear the faraway cries of pokémon.

It was late September, the 21st to be exact, and the world around was starting to feel the effects of the summer gradually leaving and autumn settling in. The wind gently blew and I folded my arms from the cold, despite having a relatively thick knitted jumper on, and shivered in the morning chill. I knew Mum would be annoyed at me for coming out here in the morning, but I didn't care. I had just wanted to be out in the peaceful day, before anyone else woke up.

I turned to look back at our small house, which sat on the very outskirts of town, close to where it broke off into Route 1. Nuvema town was the smallest town in Unova, I'd read somewhere, but yet it still felt too large to me.

Sighing again, I began to walk back to the house. My mum and twin sister White would be up soon, and I didn't want them to worry about me, especially today. Because today was a special day, it was mine and White's 14th birthday.

I slowly pushed open the door to the house, not wanting to wake anyone, and took off my shoes. But it seemed I was too late, as White came bounding down the stairs when she heard me, still dressed in her pink spotted pyjamas.

"Black! Happy Birthday! I thought you weren't going to speak to us at all today!" White exclaimed, as she launched herself into a hug with me.

"What? No, why wouldn't I, White?" I asked, disentangling her arms from my neck and feeling confused.

"Oh, because I saw you outside earlier in the trees – don't worry, I won't tell mum," she added, after seeing my startled expression. She went on, awkwardly looking at the floor. "And well, you know... because today I'm getting a pokémon and... you're not."

I inwardly sighed. I know it wasn't her fault, but still... she had to bring that up, didn't she? Now don't get me wrong, I love White, and she's the best sister you could ever ask for, but despite all that I couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment.

If I was being honest, I could say that I felt that a lot about White, my caring older sister. Whenever I could do something well, she could do it brilliantly. She's charismatic and has lots of friends, whereas I'm pretty much a loner. I'm always second best to her, yet she is still so oblivious about it and so nice to me.

But, now there was this, she gets to go on an adventure across the whole region and I'm stuck here still. I do know they had their reasons for that, but that doesn't mean I had to like it.

But I ignored those feelings and just smiled at her, shrugging it off, which was probably the reaction she was hoping for. "No, it's fine, you should have fun."

With that White beamed back at me and bounced off to get dressed; Cheren and Bianca were coming over later. We were practically neighbours and they were Whites best friends, but I didn't really know them and kept my distance when they were over our house.

The rest of the day after that went fairly quickly. With Cheren and Bianca over, White and I opened our presents – I got a new blue jacket and some books about pokémon, and White mainly got supplies for when she left. It's relatively hard for our family to get by at times, and considering Mum's the only one with a job and we're twins, I wasn't expecting much for this birthday. Though seemed like Mum had gone all out this year, and not just for White, either.

But she wasn't the only one though. White had also bought presents for us, from her own savings. They were matching caps, of red and pink, each with a poké ball logo on the front. It seemed like they would have cost a fortune, and I immediately felt bad – I had only got her a card.

"It's so you won't miss me when I'm away – as long as we wear these, we'll always be together," White had explained, slightly embarrassed, and I felt my gratitude couldn't be put into words. White was always so good to me, when she didn't have to be, and yet I was horrible... Straight away I put the cap on, stuffing my wild hazel brown hair underneath, and White did the same.

With us all sitting in White's room, Mum went off to get what they had all been waiting for, the box that Professor Juniper had dropped off at our house earlier. "Ta-da! Well, I'll be downstairs now, so you kids have fun! Ah, Black, are you staying here then...?"

Before I could speak, White enthusiastically answered for me. "Yes, Black's staying here," she said, glancing over at me. I smiled to show my agreement, and she beamed back.

When Mum had left, Cheren strolled over from where he was sitting and picked up the card on top of the box. "It says there's three pokémon and that we should choose between ourselves... Well, since we're at White's house, she should choose first."

I looked over at White, who was now bright red with embarrassment as she walked to where the large box was in the table. Biting her lip, she turned to me. "Black, what do you think?"

"Huh, me? Well, it's your choice isn't it, so you should pick yourself," I mumbled back, as it was obvious she was just asking me because she felt bad about me being left out.

"Aww, please? I really can't choose..." she pleaded, although smiling, and I rolled my eyes and walked over. Playing along, I looked at the poké balls and each pokémon's description, thinking carefully as I didn't want to jeopardize White's chances on her adventure, despite my subtle jealously.

"Umm," I started, feeling awkward now all the attention was on me. "I think you should go with oshawott. It's well balanced, so would suit you well," I suggested, hoping that sounded somewhat intelligent.

White seemed happy with it, though, as she enthusiastically replied "Okay!" and picked up the middle Poké Ball.

"Oo, oo, me next!" Bianca blurted, rushing over and completely pushing me out of the way. Cheren caught my eye and gave me an apologetic look.

"I'll pick tepig, it's so adorable! Oh, and that means snivy is for you, Cheren!" she loudly exclaimed, leaving me wondering how on earth White and Cheren were friends with her.

Cheren scoffed and looked slightly abashed. "How come you get to choose my pokémon for me? Well, whatever, if you must know I wanted snivy anyway," he grumbled, taking the poké ball from Bianca, making White laugh.

"So, now we have our pokémon, let's have a battle!" Bianca cried, challenging White, who accepted and sent out oshawott. I took that as my cue to leave and snuck out the door, though they were probably too busy laughing and having fun to notice.

I made my way out the house, Mum not noticing, and went to where I was stood before. White and her friends were going to Professor Juniper's lab soon, and then they were heading off tonight... Strangely I didn't feel the need to see them off.

I climbed partway up the tree I was next to, and put in my headphones and listened to music, reflecting on the day. As I watched White and her friends leave a whole new wave of jealousy spilled over in me, and I couldn't help thinking: _Why couldn't it have been me?_ Sure, I had my health to think about but that had been a lot better recently, and I just couldn't stand to think that I would be living in this town my whole life, where nothing exciting ever happened and everyone was a stranger to me.

And so, it was then that I made the decision that would change my life, I decided to leave, to run away. _I can get to Accumula town easily enough, and then I can buy some poké balls and catch pokémon of my own,_ I thought, I knew I had a bit of money saved up, which would probably be enough.

Deep down, I knew that if I didn't leave tonight I never would. I would surely talk myself out of it somehow. But I just felt the need for action, for taking charge and control of my own life for once, and I also swore to myself that I wouldn't be second best to White this time.

However it was then, when I was about to go back to the house to get some things, that I saw it at the foot of the tree, the pokémon that would change my life forever.


	2. Chapter 2 Pokémon

A/N: So, after a slight delay, here is chapter 2!^^ Chapter 3 should also be up very shortly, so make sure to check that out too, if you like this. Chapter 2 is a bit slow going, but the story starts to kick off in chapter 3, which is why I wanted to upload them both at the same time, and which also why it took slightly longer than I would have wanted.

Also, a major thank you to you awesome people who reviewed, you're awesome. xD To anyone else, please feel free to leave reviews or whatever, it's always good. So, thank you for reading, and without any further ramblings, chapter 2!^^

**Truth and Ideals – Chapter 2**

"W-What?" I exclaimed, surprised, as I watched the small pokémon at the foot of the tree. It was... an oshawott?

"White? Are you still here?" I called out, looking around, but feeling stupid when there was no answer. The town was practically abandoned in the dark evening. I dropped down from the tree and crouched beside the small blue otter pokémon, trying to find clues as to where it had come from. "There's no way White would have left you here, is there... So, a wild oshawott?"I pondered out loud. "No, that's just ridiculous..." I stared at the pokémon, with a growing sense of suspicion. Feeling something wasn't right; I decided to leave it there and turned to walk away, when something in the corner of my eye stopped me.

"Huh?" I turned back to see the oshawott glowing, almost, as it seemed to make a transformation into another form. "I-It can't be that you're evolving, can it?" Surprised at this sudden transformation, I was even more shocked to see the form it had turned into, which I recognised as another of the three starter pokémon - snivy. "What the- How did you do that?" I blurted out, now with my full attention on the pokémon, to see if it displayed any more strange behaviour. I was certain that oshawott didn't evolve into snivy... something was up here, that I was sure of.

But it stared back at me and transformed again, this time into tepig, the fire starter. "Seriously, what is up with this... maybe I should go ask the professor, or something," I warily picked up the now-tepig, but hearing this it kicked back on me with a surprising amount of force, and jumped back into the shade of the trees. Unsure what had caused that reaction from it, I moved closer to the trees again, when it transformed once more, stopping me in my tracks.

Now before me was a short fox-like creature, with a large bushy tail and tuft of dark fur around its neck. Its huge ears flattened aggressively and on its head the crimson crest of fur looked like a flame in the darkness, spiralling upwards. Aquamarine eyes glared up at me through its large crimson eyelids, and they seemed to glow brightly compared to the dark hues around it.

Now frozen in place by shock, I vaguely registered seeing the creature before me... then the recognition set in and I realised this was a zorua, one of the most elusive pokémon in the whole Unova region. I had been reading about it the other day with White, I remembered her saying that she hoped to see one on her journey. I also remembered reading why they were so elusive... the fact that they could transform into any pokémon.

"Could it be that you were the one transforming into those pokémon, then?" I asked, doubtful that I would get an answer from that. But the zorua still looked too aggressive to react normally, so I decided it was best to leave it be, and walked away, over to my house. It would probably go back to its trainer soon, anyway.

I had no clue what I had done to make it act like that, but I pushed it to the back of my mind, as there were more important things to think of right now.

Returning to my house, I went straight to my room and started gathering my possessions to take with me, my heart beating loud and fast. I put on the jacket I had got earlier and stuffed my money, phone and everything else I would need into a blue over the shoulder bag. Looking in the mirror, I straightened the hat White had gave me, and stood there staring at my reflection for a few seconds. I was shaking but felt determined, and knew I was surer of this than I had been of anything before.

As soon as I was certain Mum had gone to sleep, I made my move, opening the window and feeling the cold autumn air whoosh through and into the room. Taking a deep breath, I clambered out and started climbing down the drainpipe, which I could reach easily from the window. I had almost reached the bottom, when I lost my footing and slipped, landing hard on the ground below. I got up easily enough, but it still hurt. I had always been a pretty un-coordinated person, and I quickly checked around to see if anyone had noticed. Which is when I heard... a sniggering?

I walked over to the trees, where I heard it coming from, and looked down to see – The zorua from before? Sure enough, it was still there, although I had taken a while to get out of the house. It seemed less aggressive now, as it sniggered playfully at me.

"Huh, you think that's funny, do you?" I said sternly and looked at it in disapproval. But then I sighed, and turned away. I didn't have the patience for such a troublesome pokémon, and it mostly likely already had a trainer, anyway. "Strange..." I muttered, turning onto Route 1.

* * *

It hadn't taken long to get quite far on Route 1, and from where I was I could already see the tops of the roofs in Accumula town, and even some of the lights from the houses, sparkling in the darkness of the night. There was no doubt White and her friends had reached there already, Route 1 was a fairly short route, but I had no intention of meeting up with them so I settled down for the night.

I went into the trees edging the path of tall grass and dropped down onto the ground, where I could look out into the route, illuminated by the moonlight. It had most certainly been my most out of the ordinary birthday so far, and the day's events had left me feeling pretty exhausted... which is when I saw it – a rustling in the otherwise peaceful grass.

"Huh? What's that?" I murmured sleepily, but the strange movement had caught my attention. Curious, I yawned and got up, walking over to the patch of grass.

Without warning, a pokémon suddenly emerged, catching me off guard and sending me tumbling over on the ground. It was a pidove, and it seemed pretty pissed off at me, from the way it hovered above, wings flapping in aggression.

I tried to back away without startling it further, but it flew straight at me with claws outstretched, and before I could block sliced me across the cheek – a nasty scratch attack. With no way to defend myself, I tried backing away again, flinching from the scratch. This just caused it to surge forward again, however, so I put my arms up to shield the attack – Which strangely never came?

Confused, I dared to look up, and then I saw it – the pidove was scuffling on the floor with a dark object, and my eyes widened with surprise when I recognised the charcoal and crimson fur of what could only be a zorua.

In a blur, the pidove turned to flee, however before it could Zorua charged behind it and slammed into it, using a dark move I'd never seen before. The pidove dropped to the floor, before shortly rising again and flying away, cooing in agitation.

"Pursuit, huh?" I muttered to myself, as Zorua watched the enemy pidove fly off deep into the distance. Hearing this, however, Zorua dropped its battle stance and turned to face me, as I continued. "Wow... I guess what they say about not disturbing pokemon in the tall grass is true, eh? But, really, this is ridiculous, just for disturbing its sleep..." I grumbled to myself, wincing as I wiped the streak of blood from my face with the sleeve of my jacket. Seeing this, Zorua rushed over, concern etched onto its face, as it leaped up onto me and started licking the scratch.

"Hey, hey, don't worry about it – I'm fine," I laughed, and looked closely at Zorua, who hopped off of me and onto the floor. "So, you... came back all this way for me?"

Zorua nodded once, its flame-head bobbing gently, and started sniggering. "And you... you don't have a trainer, right?" I asked, a plan forming in my mind. Zorua sniggered and smiled at me, so I thought that my convictions about it being without a trainer were correct. "Well, how would you like to come with me on my journey then?" I suggested, fearing it was a stupid suggestion. But in response, Zorua bounded on me in happiness, knocking me back on the floor. "I'll take that as a yes then," I chuckled happily.

With Zorua in my arms, I gazed up at the dark night, listening to the slight breeze rustling the leaves on the treetops. I watched the bright glowing moon and the glittering stars around it, a newfound sense of freedom which felt like a breath of fresh air to me. While I had my doubts about this at first, strengthened by the encounter with the pidove, I felt like everything was falling in place and I knew I had made the right decision.

And while I wasn't much of a believer in fate, or destiny, it seemed like more than a coincidence that I had met Zorua here. Watching the deep navy night sky, I gradually drifted off into sleep, until the next day, when the true challenge would begin.


	3. Chapter 3 Meetings

A/N: Yay, chapter 3. xD Anyways, not much to say here since I think I covered it all in the previous chapters note. This is quite a long chapter, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. And if you enjoyed, or even if you didn't, leave a review, wynaut? (Bad pun, I know .) Anyway, please enjoy chapter 3! And I promise there'll be no more bad Pokémon puns from now on!

**Truth and Ideals – Chapter 3**

It was the next day, and I had finally arrived in Accumula town. After battling many a pidove and patrat on Route 1, Zorua was now sat on my head in the form of lillipup, another common pokémon we had fought, which Zorua seemed to have taken a liking to.

I looked around with wonder as I took in the town – Large sloping hills stood out at first, with tall staircases built in leading to several layers, each with buildings on. The buildings were much bigger than those of Nuvema town, I noticed, each several stories high. In the middle of the town was a large grassy square, with benches and lots of people milling around in the midday sun, most likely on their lunch break from work.

To the right a huge blue and orange building, with glass walls and automatic doors caught my attention, and when I looked closer I saw a familiar logo... This was one of the famous pokémon centres then, I had realised, awestruck. They existed in nearly every town, Nuvema the exception, so I was thrilled to be here.

Despite being intimidated by the size of the town, which was far larger than my hometown, I rushed to the pokémon centre to heal Zorua, and to buy some poké balls to officially catch her (Yes, I had reason to believe that Zorua was in fact, a girl).

"Well, here goes nothing," I muttered, as Zorua obligingly touched her nose to the poké ball. It suddenly opened, taking in Zorua, shook three times and then came to a stop, successful in catching her. "Ha-ha, sweet!" I exclaimed as I let Zorua out again, feeling lonely without my trusty partner there. Bounding onto my shoulder, I turned to exit when – _Wait._ For a moment I could've sworn I saw White's friend Cheren by the doors of the pokémon centre, walking out... Shaking it off, I nervously went out myself, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw.

A huge crowd was now gathered around the central square, and everyone seemed to be watching some very weird looking people on a sort of stage. _Is this some kind of show? _I wondered, but as I moved closer it seemed to be more like a protest, or a rally.

There were many people in matching grey outfits, surrounding a tall green-haired man wearing a large robe and stood next to a microphone. They also had flags, too, with an odd looking logo on. All of the observers seemed to quiet down as the green-haired man spoke, his voice projected throughout the whole square.

"I am Ghetsis... Ghetsis of Team Plasma..."

_Ghetsis? Team Plasma? What kind of weird people are these guys...? _I warily thought to myself, as Ghetsis continued.

"What I have to tell you all today concerns the liberation of Pokémon," Ghetsis went on, his words captivating and shocking everyone gathered in the square.

"Huh?"

"What?"

Startled cries came out from the audience, and they were right – Why did we need to liberate Pokémon? As Ghetsis rambled on I looked at Zorua on my shoulder, a bad feeling rising in my gut.

Ghetsis eventually finished his speech, and everyone around was left baffled by what they had heard. Team Plasma was challenging everything that Pokémon trainers stood for by saying we should release, or 'liberate' our Pokémon... It seemed pretty suspicious to me.

As Team Plasma took their equipment and left, the large crowd moved away, clearly affected by what they had said. I tried to make my way out of the mass of people, feeling uncomfortable, when I tripped in the crowd and fell to the floor, Zorua bounding off just in time before she was squished.

But just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked up in alarm to see a green-haired young man staring – not at me, but at Zorua, who had perched back on my head, to check if I was okay.

He was crouched by my side, but I could still tell that he was taller than me, as most people were. Despite being dressed in relatively plain clothes, he would have stood out in a crowd – his long, unkempt light green hair was tied back in a ponytail and stuffed under a monochrome cap, and he seemed to have an odd taste in accessories.

"Your pokémon..." he began, making me jump. "They speak to me..." The stranger was clearly crazy, I concluded, so I jerkily stood up and distanced myself as much as I could without seeming rude.

"Uh... Come again?" I asked meekly, no idea what I should say to him. "Did you just say that my Pokémon speaks to you?"

"Yes, it does." He paused for a moment, thinking. "So... perhaps you cannot hear them...? How sad..." he went on, in an eerily detached tone of voice. "My name is N."

"N? What kind of a name is that?" I asked, but then sheepishly apologised when I realised that might have sounded a little too harsh. "Ah, sorry, I didn't mean it like that... Well, uh, at any rate, I'm Black."

A flicker of a smirk passed on his lips, but he chose to ignore my comments. "You are a pokémon trainer too, Black, correct?" He deduced, and I nodded back. "And being a pokémon trainer means imprisoning many pokémon to serve us... I, too, am a trainer, but I can't help but wondering... are they really happy that way? So Black, is it? Let me hear the voice of your pokémon again!"

I didn't quite understand what he meant by that, but I knew he was challenging me to a battle, so I had to take it seriously. N sent out a purrloin, another pokémon I had yet to encounter.

"Go, Zorua!" I commanded whilst getting up, and slight bemused, Zorua jumped off my head. I don't think Zorua had quite come to terms yet that she was supposed to follow my orders, not just do things herself.

N's purrloin started off using leer, so Zorua, following my command, snuck in with scratch, hitting right on the target.

"Ha-ha, nice one Zorua! Sorry N, but we're taking you down!" I excitedly exclaimed. Sure, I may have been getting a little carried away, but the adrenaline from the battle was rushing through me, and I couldn't hold back. I was sure I wasn't going to let myself lose to this weird stranger.

"Heh... Black, you really shouldn't be so naive..." N muttered, then sharply looked up and commanded his pokémon. "Purrloin, use scratch!" It was evident that the foe purrloin had better speed than Zorua, as the attack hit before Zorua could dodge out the way.

"Ah! Zorua, back up, and just dodge its attacks now!" I ordered, worried about her now it was obvious purrloin was stronger. But Zorua simply ignored me and charged straight at the target again. N's purrloin easily dodged her attack, and swiftly twisted around to land a finishing blow on Zorua. She fell on the ground close to Ns feet, fainted.

"Zorua!" I cried out in shock, and rushed over to where she had fallen on the ground. I was aware of the fact that N was still stood above me, his purrloin a little while away with a smug look on its face. I heard N let out a sigh, and glared up at him.

"Well that is disappointing... I could've sworn... No, I was sure I was onto something here... Well anyway... Black, sorry to have wasted your time," he apologised, and started walking away. But, before he could, a mysterious figure stepped in front of my view, and a familiar voice called out to N.

"No, you're not going anywhere."

_What – It couldn't be..._

Instantly shocked, I looked up – and sure enough, I saw the large ponytail and familiar clothes of the person probably closest to me, yet the one I had wanted to see least of all now.

"White?"

I asked, but in response she clenched her teeth and called out to N again, who had returned to face us. And that was all the proof I needed, White was incredibly stubborn when she was angry, a trait we had both inherited.

"You – who are you and what are you doing here?" she called out, barely managing to keep her voice below shouting, and I instantly felt uneasy – I'd never seen White this mad before.

"Oh, and you are...?" N asked, having regained his interest in things. He stared at White for a moment, but then continued. "Hmm... Your pokémon are saying some interesting things... If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get...!" N mused, his purrloin running back to stand to attention.

"That's fine by me!" White smirked, and threw the poké ball she'd been carrying, sending out Oshawott. All I could do was sit and watch their battle, both pokemon moving too fast for me to keep up with. It was a much more animated, tense battle than that of mine and Ns, and I admired how far White had progressed already. Although the obvious gap in our abilities did discourage me, maybe I just wasn't cut out for this after all...

N's purrloin falling to the ground, fainted, broke me out of my thoughts. White had won. Before I could say anything, N cut in, speaking as quickly as ever. "Perhaps I was... wrong about you after all, Black...?" he pondered, making no sense to me. "And you, White, was it? This is certainly interesting... well, until next time..." With that he turned away, disappearing as quickly as he had appeared in the first place.

A silence filled the air... I was alone with White now, who hadn't once looked at me. _Damn, she must be pretty mad then... _I thought. As she turned round I could see the fury and disapproval in her eyes, glaring at me.

But instead of shouting, White dropped to the ground beside me, all of the anger drained from her face, so she just seemed tired and worried, nothing like the strong character I'd saw just then.

"Oh, Black... what am I gonna do with you?" she murmured, and it seemed like she was on the verge of crying, making me feel immediately guilty. "You... do you know how worried I was about you?" she blurted out, putting her hands on my shoulders so I had no choice but to look at her directly.

"But, how did you even know I'd gone?" I challenged, though she easily swatted the question away.

"How do you think? Mum called, sounding pretty freaking panicked, and said that you were gone, without so much as a note!" Her voice had escalated now, as she let out her anger, but this only served to make me more annoyed at her.

"I was only gone for one night, and I was fine, wasn't I? It's not like I'm about to drop dead at any damn moment, so stop worrying!"

"But how can we not worry? You didn't exactly seem in control of the situation back there, did you? You don't seem fine – besides, you have a cut on your face – and where the hell did you get that pokémon?"

I flinched at that, it was all somewhat true. I was vaguely aware of the cut on my face from that pidove, which had reopened, and shielded Zorua when White began to question her.

"What's it to you?" I snapped back, pushing her hands off my shoulders. "Don't think I can catch a pokémon on my own, do you? White, just do me a favour and stop acting like you constantly need to care for me. I _can _do things on my own!" I shouted, on my feet in blind anger.

"What – I never said that, did I? Black, stop, you're acting like a child."

"See, there it is again! You always have to think that you're that much better than me, don't you?" I shook my head, backing away slightly. "But not this time – You hear me? I will be better than you, White, just watch me!"

"Black!" White was on her feet now, too, looking at me with pleading eyes. "Please, just calm down, we can go back and talk about this, I promise!"

I knew I'd upset White, but I couldn't stop now. Shaking, I gripped the edge of my jacket tightly, still with Zorua in my arms. "No! I'm never going back there now! You'll see, White, I'll become Champion of the Pokémon League, then you'll see who's the better trainer! I'll prove myself to you – you're not going to win this time!"

Staring at the hurt expression on Whites face, as she started crying, I backed away, then turned and ran, as far away from there as I could.


	4. Chapter 4 Dreams

A/N: Oh, wow, this took far longer than I would have hoped to get put up. But, at least, it's here now, I guess? Yeah, there's really no excuse for taking this long to do this, so from now on I'll work to get more chapters out as quickly as possible.

**Truth and Ideals - Chapter 4**

White stood in the middle of the square, watching as Black turned and ran to the gate, an expression on his face she couldn't decipher. But before she could follow him he was long gone, and White stayed with feet like weights planted heavily on the ground, despite her efforts to move herself. Barely moments passed, although it felt like hours to her, and eventually she shakily turned away, wiping tear stains from her face.

But as she reached the pokémon centre to heal her pokémon, a familiar face snapped her back to reality. "White? Oh wow... whatever happened?" Cheren asked, taking in the shaky stance and puffy eyes of his close friend, which she tried to disguise.

"No... It doesn't matter," she said sternly, regaining her composure. Even in the worst circumstances, White made sure she was always in control of the situation. "I just, met Black, that's all."

"What- Black? You should've said!" Cheren seemed startled, as he immediately started looking around. "Where is he?"

"Gone." White replied bluntly, sighing in frustration. "Don't worry though; I'm sure he won't have gone far... Cheren," White started, looking up into his eyes with a strange seriousness. "Black said... that he was going to become Champion of Unova."

Cheren snorted in surprise, not even bothering to hide the condescending undertone in his voice. "Oh really? Hah... That's my dream, you know, to become Champion."

"So... you don't think he can do it?"

"Honestly, no. Face it White, you're much more cut out to be a pokémon trainer, okay? Even if he is your brother, don't take him too seriously." Cheren hesitated for a moment. "Oh, sorry, that sounded harsh, didn't it? Well just so you know, I'm here if ever you need any help, White."

White nodded slowly and thanked Cheren. He turned to leave, when he suddenly stopped, as if remembering something. "White... Do you have a dream?" he asked, almost bemused as he turned to face White again.

"Ah?" White exclaimed, caught off guard by the question. "It depends what you mean by that, but I guess... not."

"Hah, I guess that makes sense, with someone as down to earth as you. Well, see you around..." he added, as they exchanged goodbyes and parted ways, White being left alone in her thoughts.

* * *

Running away – that was something I seemed to be doing a lot lately. I sat on the ground by the edge of the trees on Route 2, leaning on a large boulder as I processed what had just happened.

I knew that I shouldn't have just run away from White like that, but part of me knew that I wouldn't have been able to face her, not there, not then. Deep down I felt that everything she had said was true – but I couldn't just give up to her like that! I had made my decisions in running away in the first place, so I would stick by that no matter what.

Just... why did I feel like such a coward in doing so? I closed my eyes tightly, leaving the world behind, with thoughts of before gradually growing dimmer. I could just about hear the cries of trainers further down on the Route, who I couldn't face without an awake pokémon.

But then, just as I was drifting off, zoning out the world around, I felt it – the presence of something in front of me. I could feel its raspy breath on my face, so I warily opened my eyes to find two huge yellow eyes glaring malevolently back at me.

"Huh?!"

I jumped up, startled to see the huge bull, what I could only assume was some kind of strange pokémon I'd never seen before. Its fixed glaring eyes matched its appearance, huge horns protruded from an afro-like hairstyle on its head as it stomped its feet on the ground in agitation. Clearly I must have looked shocked to death, as another figure – its trainer? – emerged from behind the huge pokémon and began apologising.

"Ah- sorry about that! Don't mind Bouffalant, he may look intimidating, but he's a real softie really." I looked back on the bouffalant, which seemed to me like it could be anything but a "softie", as he had put it. Heck, right now it was headbutting the strange trainer, in some kind of aggressive playfight. But the man was still smiling cheerfully, his red and orange hair growing wildly in all directions.

_Strange guy_, I thought as I took in his unusual attire of a weird looking poncho, with six poké balls hanging on a string around his neck. He seemed like a far stronger trainer than anything found on Route 2, the menacing bouffalant standing evidence for that, so I was suspicious about it.

"Umm..." I began, unsure of what to say.

"Oh, that's right!" he exclaimed, as if he had forgotten I was standing there. "I think Bouffalant was just checking you were okay. So, off to Striaton I take it?"

"Uhh, well I guess so..." I answered uneasily. I looked at fainted Zorua again, wondering what I was going to do with her. However, it seemed he caught onto this and rushed over in concern.

"Oh no! What happened?" he asked, but cut in before I could answer. "But don't worry! I have the perfect thing for a time like this!"

"What?" I muttered under my breath as he reached into his bag and produced a small diamond-shaped gold pill, well, that was what it looked like. Before I could say anymore, to my shock he swiped Zorua from my arms and pushed it into her mouth. "What do you think you're doing?" I demanded, concerned about Zorua. This guy irritated me...thinking he could just come out of nowhere and do whatever he liked.

But the man just chuckled and looked straight back at me. "What, you've never seen a revive before?" he asked in slight disbelief, as to my surprise and annoyance, Zorua's eyes opened and she leaped from his arms, very much awake.

"Eh... thanks?"I muttered in bewilderment, as I went over to pick Zorua up. However, instead of obligingly running up me as I expected, she stayed right where she was and growled, in a menacing action. "Zorua..." I began, sighing slightly. "I guess you're probably upset because we lost that battle, but that might not have happened if you have just listened to me. No... I mean, I promise that we won't lose the next one if we work together," I vowed, as I crouched on the ground and extended an arm towards Zorua.

But as Zorua hesitated and stared straight back at me, still with a hostile glare, I knew I had messed up. I lowered my arm, and as I looked down I knew I couldn't blame it on Zorua, when really it was all my fault, and I just didn't want to admit it.

However, before I could say anymore the man, still close by, spoke up for me. "Y'know..." he started, crouching down and patting Zorua's head warily, even as she growled at him in agitation. "I think it would be best for you to stick with this trainer. Despite everything he, uh, means well, and I think he shows promise as a trainer." He smiled brightly at Zorua, as she hesitated, eyeing up the strange man, before slowly walking back towards me.

"Ah... Thank you," I said, both at Zorua and the man, who seemed to have a strange connection with pokémon. "And, um..." I began, almost afraid to ask. "Do you really believe that? That I could be a good trainer?" I asked him, as Zorua jumped up and snuggled into my shoulder, a friendly gesture.

"Sure I do!" he replied, as he got to feet once more. "I think anyone can be a good trainer if they put their heart and soul into it."

"Oh, right, I see..." I chuckled weakly, assuming he was just saying that to make me feel better about myself. And besides, what did that mean anyway? Putting your 'heart and soul' into training Pokémon...? I still didn't understand this guy.

"Hmm... I don't know though, it seems a bit more prominent with you. It feels like you're destined for bigger things. Who knows, maybe one day you'll become champion of the Pokémon league!" he proclaimed, roaring with laughter, and I couldn't understand why. What, was he laughing at my dream? No, that couldn't be it, after all, I'd only just met the guy and he didn't know what I'd said to White. White... I shook my head, trying not to remember the events of earlier that day.

"Actually," he began, as if remembering something and interrupting my thoughts. "I'm all for doing things on whims, so... here!" he exclaimed, tugging a large object from his bag, which resembled... an egg?

"Umm, what is that?" I asked.

"Why, it's a pokémon egg of course!" _Oh, so I was right_, I thought, but feeling stupid since I had to ask.

"Do you mind keeping a hold of this for me? I was going to give it to the Day-care near the next town, but I think now it would be wiser to give it to an actual trainer like you!"

Slightly overwhelmed and not sure what to say, I reluctantly took the egg and agreed- it's not like I could say no. "What's it gonna hatch into?" I asked.

But the man just laughed and avoided the question. "Well, you'll find that out yourself, won't you?"

And with that, he turned to walk away, much to my surprise.

"Wait- you can't just leave after all that! I still don't even know who you are!" The guy's weird easy-going personality both irritated and intrigued me, but I still thought I should at least know his name.

"Oh?" He turned back around, as if introducing himself had never occurred to him. "You can call me Alder! And you are?" he asked, as an afterthought.

"Black..."

"Well Black, it was a pleasure meeting you. I'm sure I'll be seeing you around in the future- Oh, and good luck at the Striaton gym!"he exclaimed, reminding me of where I was going to, the first gym in the next town.

"Uh, yeah, thanks..." I muttered, as he walked off, his huge bouffalant still trailing behind him.

I looked down at the egg in arms in bewilderment, and as I watched the man – Alder – walking off I couldn't help but wondering – _Why is always me who meets all the weirdos?_


	5. Chapter 5 Battles

****A/N: Oh wow... well, hey again, guys! I finally managed to get this chapter out, which is something, I guess? Stuff has just been crazy recently, what with school and everything, but I'm really hoping that I'll be able to update this more regularly in the future. And also, thanks for the reviews and favourites, I really do appreciate them and well, lets just say they inspire me to write more.

On a completely different note, Black and White 2's been out for a while now, how are you guys liking it? ^^ I'm enjoying it a lot, though I can't say I've got very far in the game yet.

So, until next time, chapter 5!~

**Truth and Ideals chapter 5 - Battles**

As I strode out of the pokémon centre at Striaton City, whilst taking a breath of the refreshing air, I felt something I hadn't in a long while- hope.

The sun shone out brightly from behind the clouds, radiating golden beams of light onto the paving stones at my feet, as a flock of pidove fluttered off into the distance above. Yawning, I stretched out my arms, and Zorua- sitting idle on my shoulder up until then- leaped off onto the ground, disgruntled.

I crouched down onto the ground in front of her, chuckling. "So, Zorua, whatcha say we get our first gym badge today?" I asked, and Zorua's eyes glittered in excitement at the prospect, as I deposited her back on my shoulder. "Well then, let's go!"

I patted the bag slung over my shoulder, encasing the precious egg which I'd received previously, and as we made our way through the city to the gym, I stared up at the tall, looming buildings either side of me. Despite this, Striaton city still felt surprisingly homely to me, and I felt almost at ease amongst all the strange and different scenery. I'd only arrived late yesterday, stopping in the pokémon centre for the night, but I had no time for sightseeing.

I knew the only way to get White to accept my journey was to prove my worth as a trainer. And the easiest way to do that? By defeating all eight gym leaders in the Unova region, and then the pokémon league. Only then would I be able to become Champion, or at least, that's what I'd read.

Suddenly I slowed, and sighed heavily. I had no idea becoming Champion would be so difficult... When I had loudly vowed I would become Champion to White, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into.

On my shoulder, Zorua must have sensed my depleted enthusiasm, as she nudged violently at my head, yapping loudly in my ear. That's right... even despite everything, I still had to do this for Zorua if nothing else. I wasn't about to give up before I'd even begun.

And so, taking a deep breath in, I pushed open the heavy brass doors of the gym, and stepped into...

A restaurant?

"Uh... Am I lost?" I asked, to no one in particular. However, it appeared someone had heard , as a man in glasses practically jumped upon me; I almost fell backwards out of the door in shock.

"Trainer, hello and welcome to the Striaton gym! This is indeed a restaurant, however there is a slight twist, as the main course here is... battles!

"My name is Clyde, and I will serve as your gym guide! Now, if I could please see your trainer card...?"

"Yeah, sure..." I replied, slightly taken aback by this person's loud and eager character. I handed over my trainer card – which I had gotten issued yesterday at the pokémon centre, along with a badge case- and the man called Clyde took it from me in a whirlwind, swiping it along some kind of machine and returning it to me in what must have been less than 2 seconds.

With a fresh water in hand and Zorua slightly stronger, a little while later we arrived at the end of the gym, where three matching figures stood on a raised platform.

"Um... hello?" I spoke out, alerting them to my presence, and they all turned around, synchronised with each other. They all appeared to be dressed as waiters- fitting, given the theme of the gym. "Is one of you the gym leader?"

"It's nice of you to ask that..." the green haired young man in the centre began, gesturing to either side of him. "Because you see, we all are!"

"Chilli!"

"Cress."

"And Cilan, the Striaton Trio at your service! Which of us you battle depends on your starting pokémon."

So in awe by their perfectly orchestrated introduction, I barely registered what Cilan had said about my starting pokémon. When, eventually, I realised what he meant, I glanced at my shoulder - only to see a blank space where Zorua had been sitting staring back at me.

"So, Oshawott, huh?"

The one called Cress spoke out, looking at the small cyan Pokémon now in front of me.

"Wha- er, I-I mean, yeah, Oshawott..." I hurriedly tried to correct myself as I looked at Zorua, disguised as an Oshawott, on the ground. In front of me, Zorua turned around and grinned, snickering like she did when playing tricks on me. I suppressed a sigh and decided to trust her, as Cilan began to speak again.

"Well... In that case, I will be your opponent."

The other two siblings moved away – the fiery redhead grumbling something about his disappointment at not getting to battle- as Cilan jumped down off the raised platform, onto the floor in front of me, where the battle area was. With a flick of his wrist Cilan sent out his first Pokémon; a miniature terrier I recognised as a Lillipup now stood before him.

From the sidelines, Cress called out to us, Cilan already fixated on Oshawott (Well, Zorua) in concentration. "The rules are follows: when either side has no more pokémon available to battle, the other side wins. In other words, knock out all of Cilan's pokémon and you get this- the Trio badge!" he explained, holding up a shining gym badge, of three identical bronze diamonds, each inlayed with glittering enamel in the colours red, blue and green. "Now... let the battle commence!" He exclaimed, tossing up the badge into the air and catching it again as it fell back down into his palm.

So transfixed was I by this, I didn't realise Cilan had made his first move, his Lillipup hurtling towards Zorua while I stood there staring hypnotised by a shiny piece of metal.

Even so, it only took a couple of well aimed scratch attacks until Cilan's lillipup fainted, Zorua the winner of the first round. She turned back towards me and grinned, still disguised as an Oshawott but seeming happy about her triumph. However at the same time I couldn't help but be worried about what would happen next. She'd taken quite a few hits as well, and surely disguising herself like that must zap a lot of her energy... Despite this, I had no other pokémon to switch to, so I could only hope that she would be able to hold out for long enough to knock out Cilan's last pokémon.

"Pansage, you're up next!" Cilan exclaimed, returning Lillipup to its poké ball and sending out a small green monkey in its stead.

"Alright... you're not gonna lose to this thing, are ya?" I asked Zorua, trying to fire up her enthusiasm. I could still try and win, I thought, and Zorua nodded to show her agreement. "Alright then... Oshawott, scratch!" I commanded, taking the first move this time around.

Zorua moved at the sound of my command, swiftly rushing up towards the foe, looking to get a hit. It went surprisingly well, as Zorua headed straight towards his pokémon before Cilan had even directed it to dodge... I realised one second too late why.

"Pansage, use lick!"

The pansage caught the full blow of Zorua's attack, but at the same time caught her in a trap to administer its own. Zorua fell back on the ground, her illusion worn off, and for a second my heart skipped a beat, as I wondered if she had fainted. Around the room, an expression of shock was held, as the gym leaders looked in surprise at Zorua.

"Woah... what is that pokémon?" Chilli called out from the sidelines.

"Zorua," Cilan answered, taken aback himself. "Well I never - I knew something was suspicious about that pokémon! I was sure Oshawott couldn't learn scratch... guess I was right.

"Even so... you're still not about to win!" He called out, and with a sinking feeling I realised he might be right.

"Z-Zorua?" I called out, desperately hoping we hadn't lost after coming so far. However, much to my relief, she weakly turned and grinned at me. I knew I would have to end this battle quickly though- things had suddenly got a lot more serious.

"A-alright Zorua, hang in there and use pursuit!" I called out to her, but yet, to my dismay, Zorua made no move. Or rather, she did try, but was physically unable to. The jittery movements, her inability to move properly... I knew exactly what this was, but I couldn't place it.

"Paralysis."

Cilan's words brought me out of my thoughts, echoing I was trying to think of but didn't want to hear. Paralysis... that meant that Zorua might not be able to move- leaving her completely susceptible to any attacks.

"The move lick has a chance of inflicting paralysis on the target- it seems you were just unlucky," Cilan continued. "Well, with that said, Pansage, bullet seed!"

Pansage started spitting seeds from its mouth with increasing speed at Zorua, whilst she could only sit there, completely defenceless against them. It was a risk, but I had to try to get Zorua out of there, in the hope that she would be able to move.

"Zorua, dodge if you can, and try to get close to Pansage!"

It was a crazy strategy, but there was still a chance Zorua would be able to attack... or at least that was the logic I held onto as I watched Zorua being pelted by seeds. Try as she may, she just couldn't get herself to move... That is, until it seemed like she'd taken one too many seeds in the face.

It was as if something had clicked into place – where previously she was unable to move, despite the effects of the paralysis she pulled through, and ran jerkily towards the attacking pansage. I knew I had to move quickly to activate my plan, before Zorua was overcome by the status condition again.

"Zorua, use fury attack!" I shouted, hoping she would trust in me and carry out the command. But sure enough, Zorua turned sharply and slammed into the idle pansage, kept in place by shock at Zorua's sudden movement.

"Pansage, get out of there!" Cilan cried, but it was too late, as Zorua's attack hit one, two, three, four and even five times, knocking the pansage to the floor as she fell back herself.

Before I could stop myself I rushed over, to see the pansage on the floor, fainted- and Zorua sitting next to it, looking very worn out but pleased with herself. Seeing it in Zorua's eyes then did it only just occur to me- we'd done it. We'd won our first gym badge.

A little while later, with Zorua healed up and sitting in my arms, I stood in front of the gym leaders, as Cilan congratulated me on the battle. Honestly I didn't feel like I was worth all the praise- after all, it was Zorua who had done all the work.

"I think I knew when you first walked in here that you would give us a... interesting battle," he said, choosing his words carefully. "Your flavour as a trainer is very different from what we've seen before... and your pokémon is full of spice, too!" Cilan added, after a playful growl from Zorua.

"Well, anyway..." Cress cut in, stepping forward. "This is all yours," he said, taking out the shining badge I was admiring earlier. It fit perfectly into the space in my badge case, the first of hopefully many to come.

"Thank you... It was great battling you, I felt like I learned a lot," I replied, and meant what I said. I was still going to have to get much better, but somehow, the prospect seemed a lot less daunting now.

"And you, too," Cilan said with a smile, and I nodded and turned back towards the entrance, passing the gym trainers and pushing open the large doors again, stepping out into the beautiful day.

Except... it was raining now?

Zorua yapped in alarm and dived closer into my jacket, as I hastily tried to reassure her. "C'mon Zorua, it's just a bit of rain..." I laughed weakly, although secretly I wanted to go back inside as well. For a second I paused, thinking about Zorua's adverse reaction to the rain... surely she'd seen such weather before? But before I could think much of it, I saw something that caught my attention a lot more.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted two grey-clad figures, moving towards the entrance to a heavily forested area, the Dreamyard.

Immediately I recognised them as people I'd seen at the rally the other day in Accumula town – Team Plasma. Unable to suppress my curiosity, I followed behind them, despite the rain pouring down, and entered the Dreamyard.


	6. Chapter 6 Hostility

A/N: Yay, chapter 6! Yeah, this took ages again, but for the record one of my new year's resolutions will definitely be to write more. (We'll see how that goes). ^~^

In the meantime, happy holidays, merry christmas, etc etc etc, and onto chapter 6!

**Truth and Ideals Chapter 6 - Hostility**

The dreamyard was a peculiar place. I wasn't sure what I had been expecting, but what I saw before me was still pretty far from it. The tall trees still loomed either side, yet they parted directly in front of where I stood, creating a large clearing. Light filtered onto the ground through gaps in the emerald treetops, creating patterns that danced across the grass every time the wind blew.

Up ahead was a large structure; what seemed to have once been part of a building, yet it was crumbling and worn down now. Light green moss grew up the sides of the concrete walls; tall grass grew at the base of chain metal gates, twisting their blades into the rusted metal. In the corner by the trees, patrat ran around playfully, and opposite them, people training their pokémon sheltered underneath the trees from the rain, which had eased up slightly.

The whole place had an atmosphere of mystery and calm, which hung silently in the air. I glanced from side to side, trying to locate the two Plasma grunts that had run in here. Zorua leaped from my arms, landing softly on the grassy floor, as she shook her fur of the water droplets that had accumulated on the surface.

"Stay close to me, Zorua," I murmured softly.

I assumed the members of Team Plasma had disappeared into building-like area – there was nowhere else for them to go, after all. I inspected the area around the rusted auburn gates – sure enough, in the concrete wall there was a large person sized hole, which looked as if it had been blasted through long ago. In front was a small tree, slashed across from the side. There was no doubt that anything other than a pokémon could have cut the tree down.

I knew Team Plasma would be inside, but yet I hesitated at the entrance. What was it Team Plasma were after in the dreamyard? Even if I didn't know, was it necessarily bad? While I certainly didn't agree with their motivations, from what I'd seen they hadn't done anything bad, really.

I bit my lip. Excuses, they were just excuses. Sure, nothing had happened yet, but I had a bad feeling about them that I couldn't ignore. Anyone who wanted to separate people and pokemon surely couldn't be good news.

Zorua looked back at me, expectantly. I smiled back at her, nervously, and climbed over the tree into the building. _It's now or never, I suppose_, I thought.

From inside the gates, I could see more clearly what it was – or, used to be. The building, what was left of it, seemed to be some kind of research facility. A large entrance stood before me, with tall concrete walls and a corrugated metal roof. Beyond that, the ceiling extended above, yet it was missing huge chunks, the thick metal wires poking through in the gaps. Empty oil drums littered the ground, and, surprisingly, sparse patches of grass grew through the concrete floor.

Looking around, I stood lingering by the tree where I came in, while Zorua walked a small distance ahead of me. Rainwater ran down the side of my face and I shivered, but not just from the cold. I could have sworn I heard voices, coming from further inside the building.

I strained my hearing to try to pick up the noises again, yet to no avail; all I could hear was blood pounding loudly in my ears. I took a deep breath, cursing myself for being so nervous.

In front of me, Zorua's ears perked up at a sound, and before I could stop her, she leaped off into the entrance. Without thinking, I ran behind her, into a wide open area, what you could call deep inside the dreamyard. Up ahead I could just make out two shadowy figures, standing in the tall grass underneath an outcrop of the ceiling.

"Stop it!"

A girl's voice, coming from the right of where I stood. The voice, along with her bright and colourful attire, was instantly recognisable.

"Bianca?"

She swivelled around in shock- I guessed she hadn't heard me enter. "Black?" Bianca exclaimed, in relief.

"What's going on?" I asked, trying to assess the situation.

However, before Bianca could answer, one of the shadowy figures did instead. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she sneered, with a malicious chuckle, before turning back to a pink floating shape in front of him. Just as I had expected, they were the Team Plasma grunts I had seen earlier. "Now cough up the dream mist!"

The other grunt on the opposite side of the pink pokémon approached it, and before it had the chance to run, he kicked it violently in the side. The pokémon cried out, and landed on the floor with a heavy thud.

"Stop it! Why are you doing that to Munna?" Bianca cried out from beside me.

"Tch...stupid girl. For your information, we're retrieving the dream mist we were sent to get."

"But that doesn't mean you have to hurt Munna! I thought Team Plasma wanted to liberate pokémon to help them; not hurt them!"

The female grunt scowled fiercely at Bianca, and opened her mouth to speak, before the other grunt interrupted. "Hey, it's not working," he said, in regard to the battered munna on the floor before him. Whatever dream mist was, the munna wasn't producing any, and this seemed to aggravate the female grunt even further.

"Well, then kick it harder!" she snapped, before turned back to face us. "Haven't you ever heard of the saying 'the ends justify the means'? By using the dream mist munna produces, we can influence people to agree with us! Since I guess you can't understand our way of thinking, we'll have to help you to that... Hey, you!" She barked at the other grunt. "Call out your pokémon!"

"Ah, a pokémon battle... Black, help!" Bianca asked in alarm, turning towards me. I figured I didn't have much choice in the matter. I swallowed anxiously, and balled my hands into fists, trying not to let my nerves get the better of me.

"Right... Zorua!" I called, but Zorua was already one step ahead of me, standing to attention in front of where I stood. The two Plasma grunts had sent out a patrat and a purrloin, which smirked and swished its tail teasingly towards Zorua. Zorua growled in response, but I held her back from attacking. Instead, I glanced at Bianca.

"Hey, aren't you gonna call out your pokémon?" I asked Bianca, who stood watching nervously, even more so than me. She looked at me in surprise. "You're a pokémon trainer too, right?" I asked, to which she nodded feverously.

"O-okay!" she agreed, digging inside her bag until she produced a poke ball. "Tepig, come help!"

I glanced sideways and grinned slightly at Bianca, who nodded back at me nervously. I turned back towards the Plasma grunt, who was scowling furiously at me.

"Purrloin, scratch!"

As Zorua rushed up to meet the purrloin's attack, I could see Bianca directing Tepig's ember attack at the foe patrat. Not wanting to hold her back any further, I called out to Zorua, who was already nimbly dodging the purrloin's attack. "Zorua, pursuit!"

Even if we were in a potentially dangerous situation with the Plasma grunts, I could still feel the rush of the battle- coupled with the nerves and anxiety running through me- so it was no surprise we won easily. Bianca, on the other hand, seemed a bit shell shocked by the experience, as she called back her tepig. "W-we won...?"

"What, we lost?! To a bunch of kids as well... Tch! You'll both regret sticking your noses into Team Plasma's business!" The female grunt snarled, as they both called back their pokémon.

"C'mon, let's get out of here..." The grunt beside her grumbled miserably. But before they could, a figure materialised beside them.

The area around them seemed to glow in purplish hue, but the two grunts were fixated on the figure in front of them. Suddenly I recognised the figure in front of them as the man I'd seen talking at the Team Plasma rally the other day- I'd recognise that strange castle-robe get up anywhere. What was his name again...?

"L-lord Ghetsis!" The Plasma grunt called out in alarm. To the surprise of all of us, Ghetsis suddenly disappeared, re-materialising seconds later on the opposite side of them.

"What foolishness is this? You two have failed me..." Ghetsis spoke, his voice echoing strangely in the air. Surely... it couldn't really be him, right?

Even so, he still emanated an intimidating aura, even more so up close. Despite his attention being focused on the two Plasma grunts, I could feel myself shaking. I could only hope that he was so fixated on the grunts that he didn't notice me and Bianca.

If he had that effect on me, only observing, I could only imagine the feeling being tenfold for the grunts. The smaller, female grunt stood behind the other as a shield, squealing something unintelligible. Eventually- well, it didn't take long- he cracked and ran from the dreamyard, shouting something about apologising to Lord Ghetsis, and the other ran behind him, hot on his heels and not even noticing us still standing there.

At that, Ghetsis disappeared, in his place a larger munna-like creature floating out from behind the concrete wall. Bianca seemed just as dumbfounded as I was feeling from the whole encounter. "Wha... That Ghetsis guy, that wasn't real, right?"

"I have no idea..." I replied, watching the two pokémon in front of us. The larger munna-like pokémon had floated over to the injured munna on the floor, and was using some kind of healing move on it. It glowed a soft shade of pink, and the munna seemed to regain energy, until it floated up next to the other pokémon. They disappeared again behind the walls of the dreamyard, the larger pokémon lingering, watching us for a second, before it followed the other.

Just then, from behind us, yet another figure came crashing in towards us; she had long purple hair and clung to a clipboard as if her life depended on it. Bianca seemed to recognise her anyway, which I took as a good sign.

"Miss Fennel?" She exclaimed, and the person turned and beamed at her.

"Bianca! Did something happen here?" She asked, glancing at me. Hurriedly, Bianca explained about the Plasma grunts and the strange apparition we'd seen.

"Oh, well maybe Musharna used its dream mist to make you see that illusion," Fennel pondered, stroking her chin.

"Musharna?" I asked, interested.

"Oh, musharna is munna's evolved form! It has much stronger psychic powers, and there are a few that live in the dreamyard, so I wouldn't be surprised if it could make such a realistic apparition."

"Right..." I murmured. So the larger munna-like creature we'd saw must have been musharna, then.

Biance spoke up from on the other side of Fennel, pointing to where the musharna had been. "So then... Miss Fennel, is that the dream mist?"

In front of where Bianca was pointing, was a peculiar-looking patch of mist suspended in the air, shimmering purple. Fennel let out what could only be described as a squeal, and rushed over to the mist.

The purple substance swayed softly in the air as she knelt down next to it, taking out from her coat a small capsule not unlike a poke ball. The mist was sucked in, causing the capsule to close with a small click. Fennel stood up and turned back towards us, beaming at Bianca. "You're right, this is the dream mist! Musharna lets it out when it produces psychic illusions, like the one you saw. Well, this is great! With this, I'll be able to complete my research; thank you, both of you!"

And with that, Fennel turned and exited the dreamyard.

"Wow, um... who was that?" I asked Bianca, bewildered.

"Oh, it's Miss Fennel, she's a scientist studying pokemon! I met her earlier, and she told me to come here..." Bianca trailed off, and we stood in awkward silence.

"T-thank you, for earlier, by the way," she blurted out, continuing at a quizzical look from me. "I mean, for battling those Team Plasma grunts- you were really amazing..."

"But that wasn't just me, you helped too!" I wasn't used to such praise, and I tried to play it down – after all, Bianca had helped a lot too.

"Aha, well..."she said, looking down at the floor. "...Y'know... Black, my dad didn't want me to go on a journey... well, he let me in the end, but I don't think he wanted to... well, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think everyone's being a bit tough on you. It shouldn't just be White who gets to go on an adventure..." Bianca trailed off, and she glanced up hesitantly at me.

"Y-yeah," I said, unsure how to reply. Zorua nudged at my feet, prompting me to crouch down and scoop her into my arms. The rain had stopped altogether now, but her silky fur still felt damp against my skin. "Thanks," I said to Bianca.

"If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask," Bianca added. "And you should know... well, that I believe in you."

"R-right..."

"Well, I think I'll be off now. I want to catch another pokemon today... you should catch some more pokemon too, Black! Well, I'll see you around!" Bianca turned to walk further into the grassy area in front of us, before stopping abruptly and turning back to me. "Oh, and promise me you'll battle me, one day – just don't get too good before then!"

"Heh... sure thing!" I replied, waving goodbye as I walked out of the dreamyard.

I hurried to exit the dreamyard, my thoughts still lingering about our run-in with Team Plasma just then. It was certain to me now that Team Plasma were bad news. Not that I had any clue to do about it... But even so, I wasn't sure if it was Bianca stating she believed in me, or the fact that we had won against the Plasma grunts, but I had a strangely good feeling it would be okay – at least for now. So, with Zorua hot on my heels, I headed out toward Route 3, to catch a new pokemon.


End file.
